Shake It Out 1
by OhSoAriel
Summary: Harris Bailey just wanted to finish her education and get out of Hogwarts. It was as simple as that. Along came the Marauders. Things changed a bit.
1. Meetings

My mom says I have anger problems.

Which is bullshit, of course. People just happen to piss me off. A lot.

It wasn't always that way. I was a perfectly normal preteen upon entering Hogwarts. Then the Sorting Hat put me into Slytherin, and it all went downhill from there.

Now don't get me wrong, I belong in Slytherin. Out of the four Hogwarts houses- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin- my house is the most fitting for my personality. I wouldn't label myself a coward, but my sense of self-preservation was far too high for Gryffindor standards. I'm smart but I supremely do not care about studying or competing with my peers for who has the strongest intellect, so Ravenclaw was out. I have no problem with Hufflepuff, but I was not kind enough for their ranks, so that was off of the table as well. Slytherin is where I belong. I am ambitious, and cunning. I'm good with sizing people up, and I can manipulate people and situations pretty easily when need be. My ideologies, however, fall short of my peers' standards.

It seems as though we've stumbled upon the root of my problems.

You see, I'm not your typical Slytherin in that I don't give a flying fuck about blood. I really don't. Neither do my parents; my mother was a Ravenclaw and my father was a Gryffindor, so they didn't have to deal with the absolute shitheads in my house. I didn't have one friend there, not one. In the beginning, my peers tried to befriend me as eleven year olds are wont to do, but, alas, punching Howie Davis in the stomach for calling Lily Evans a mudblood didn't go over as well as one would think. Needless to say, they mercilessly taunted me for being a blood traitor. That was before they figured out that I knew quite a few spells and had a mean left hook, though. Anyway, by the time my sixth year rolled around, we had a mutual agreement to ignore each other. Not that I minded.

The problem was, however, that no one in the other houses talked to be because I was a Slytherin. They saw the green tie, and bam, I was enemy number one.

See where the anger comes from? And, believe it or not, I am an extrovert. I'm a damn good time in all honesty. But I also do not stand for that that does not suit me, and I couldn't fake it to make it in good graces with the Slytherins if I tried.

So I've become a bit standoffish over the years. Whatever. Two more and I'm out of here. Thank Merlin.

I just laid my head back against the seat in my compartment on the Hogwarts Express and took a deep breath. Two more years.

All of the sudden, a loud ruckus quickly came upon my compartment and two boys ran in and turned to me.

"Can we hide in here?" one asked urgently.

I shrugged, and he thanked me before they both scrambled into the overhead compartment and curled up beside my trunk. I rolled my eyes. I knew who they were. James Potter and Sirius Black. Gryffindors, my year. Incredibly popular, ginormous eggheads.

James was the leader of their little group of four (him, Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew called themselves "The Marauders"). He had glasses, messy brown hair, and was generally regarded as gorgeous. He wasn't bad looking to me, kind of nerdy, but he publically pined for Lily Evans at every given opportunity. Everyone knew that he only had eyes for her. The only thing that could compete with his love of Lily Evans was his love for the sport of quidditch. He was the captain of the Gryffindor team.

I glanced up at the giggling boys overhead. Sirius Black was more attractive, I'd admit. He had longer dark hair, and light eyes. I couldn't remember if they were gray or blue. The problem with him is that he was incredibly arrogant. His family were those dark pureblood types, but he was the first one to be in Gryffindor for centuries, apparently. You would think that he'd have redeeming qualities, right? Wrong. Giant douchebag. But what can you do?

I heard more ruckus from the hall outside before the door was thrown open to reveal Lily Evans, another Gryffindor in my year.

"Bailey," she nodded distastefully.

At least she remembered my name.

"Have you seen two adolescent boys running around? James Potter and Sirius Black?"

"Can't say that I have, Evans. Sorry," I threw her a sarcastic half-smile.

She rolled her eyes and left, swinging her long red hair behind her as she exited and shut the compartment door behind her.

Did I mention how pleasant Gryffindors are? Lily Evans was practically Gryfinndor royalty, along with the two adolescents above my head. She was a muggle born, and a brilliant one at that. Practically everyone loved her for either her wit or brains. I, personally, was not a fan of her attitude.

Anyway, after laughing for about five more straight minutes, Potter and Black managed to jump down and turn to me.

"Thanks-," Potter started, "Wait, are you new here?" He scratched his head confusedly while looking at me up and down.

"No," I replied boredly, looking up at the two of him.

"Really? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Or you've just looked past.

"Have you, Pads?" Potter asked Black.

Pads? Huh? Is Potter's nickname Tampons?

Black looked down and shook his hair out of his eyes. Gray. His eyes were gray.

"Hell no, mate. I would've remembered a face as pretty as that." He smirked at me. Did I mention he was also a chauvinist pig?

I snorted. "We've been in the same year, for five years."

Sirius looked a bit troubled at my snort, but James looked at me for a bit before conceding. "Sorry, can't place the face. I'm James Potter, by the way." He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Harris Bailey."

"Sirius Black." He kissed my hand when I held it out. Instead of giggling, like he was probably used to, I just wiped it on the seat next to me.

They gave me a weird look, before I replied, "I don't like spit on my hand, thanks."

Sirius looked offended, before James cut in hastily, "Well, nice meeting you. See you later, Harris."

And they left, with Sirius giving me yet another confused look on his way out.

I sighed, and looked down at my outfit of bell bottoms and a flowy blouse. I looked perfectly sociable without the emerald tie, a picturesque teen of the 70s if I did say so myself.

The conductor announced that the train was soon approaching Hogwarts.

I sighed again and got up to put on my uniform.


	2. Foresight

Later that evening found me sitting at the Slytherin table, waiting for everyone to finish eating so I could get the hell out of there. I sat by myself, but a bit farther down the table was the infamous group of Slytherin sixth and seventh years. Or, as I liked to call them, Death Eaters in training.

Death Eaters were what followers of Voldemort were called nowadays. What's a Voldemort, you ask? As far as I can tell, Grindelwald 2.0. His ideology was based on pureblood supremacy where the families of my Slytherin classmates were at the top, and muggles and muggle-borns were at the bottom. My parents both worked in the ministry, and I knew that there were whispers of Voldemort's followers being behind the recent muggle attacks. I glanced out of the window into the darkness. A war was surely coming.

I stopped zoning out shortly after and looked around sleepily at the Great Hall. The Slytherins were scheming and shooting glares at the Gryffindor table as usual. The Ravenclaws were reading, of course, and most of the Hufflepuffs were still merrily stuffing their faces. The Gryffindors were being loud, obviously, the epicenter of the noise being the Marauders.

Potter had apparently told a joke and they were all guffawing like buffoons. I was watching them with my head cradled in my arms on the table when Sirius looked up and caught my eye. A look of recognition crossed his face and he nodded, at me. I raised my eyebrows. Why wasn't he scowling at me like the rest of his house?

Merlin only knows. I just turned my head and closed my eyes, waiting for Dumbledore to dismiss us.

I woke up the next morning earlier than the rest of my dormmates, which was good. Though inept in the social department, I still took pride in my appearance and enjoyed looking presentable. I took a steamy shower, pulled on my uniform (hiking the skirt up a couple of inches), braided my dark hair down the side into a long plait, and applied black eyeliner and mascara. When I returned to the room to grab my bag, the girls were just waking up. With I nod to them, I gathered my belongings and headed down to breakfast. Exiting from the portrait hole, I was automatically engulfed in the warmth of Hogwarts that the depressing, cold Slytherin common room lacked. I checked my watch. 8:00 am on the dot. I had an hour to my first class.

After arriving in the semi-empty Great Hall, I took a seat at my table, and grabbed an apple, my usual breakfast, and awaited Professor Slughorn to come around with my schedule for the year. Slughorn was the head of Slytherin house, as well as Potions master. He was also annoying as fuck. Slughorn was one of those teachers that picked favorites. Sounds typical, right? Wrong. He literally _picked favorites_, in that he made a list of kids that looked like they were going somewhere in life, and invited him to join his "Slug Club" so they could all forge connections are whatnot. He used that to call in favors when said students were older and successful. After trying and failing to acquire me back in first year, he's pretty much ignored me since. Just the way I like it.

After about 20 minutes he came around with my timetable for the year.

**Harris Camille Bailey- Slytherin House**

**Monday/Wednesday/Friday:  
Double Transfiguration  
Free Hour  
Lunch  
Charms  
Potions  
Free Hour**

**Tuesday/Thurday:  
Ancient Runes  
Herbology  
Free Hour  
Lunch  
Arithmancy  
Free (2) Hours**

***various Astronomy classes for NEWT students will be held on scheduled nights over the school year.**

I nodded as I read through it. My schedule wasn't that bad, and I had all of the classes required to be an Auror or Unspeakable. I didn't choose between them yet, so it was good that they required the same subjects.

After packing the schedule safely into my bag and finishing my apple, I checked my watch again. It was 8:45. I looked around, realizing that the Great Hall had filled up while I was out of it. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, I saw Potter and friends stuffing their faces as usual, laughing and having fun.

Fun. I wonder what that feels like. Must be nice to have friends.

After my pity party, I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder, heading out of the Hall to Professor McGonagall's for Transfiguration. The good thing about this year, I thought, was that classes were no longer divided by houses. These next two years were by skill level, and that was perfectly fine by me. It was going to be a nice change to actually be challenged in class. While Slytherins were by no means idiotic, we also did not tend to apply ourselves as much as our Ravenclaw counterparts, choosing instead to finesse good grades and terrorize our classmates with the time that would otherwise be spent studying. Let's just say it wasn't hard to become top of my Slytherin class.

When I arrived in the Transfiguration room, I took a seat in the back as usual, and pulled at my parchment and quill for notes. When that was finished with, I put my head on the table to take a nice pre-class power nap.

Before I knew it, however, I was being poked in the arm, and I could hear McGonagall talking in the background.

"Psst. Harris. Class is starting," whispered the boy next to me.

My head snapped up, and I looked over. It was none other than Sirius Black. He grinned cheekily at me.

"It is far to early for you to have this much energy, Black," I muttered distastefully while trying to listen in to see if McGonagall had anything important to say, or if I could go back to sleep. She was discussing the syllabus for the year and the topics we would cover. I could feel Black staring at me from the seat next to me, so I put my head down again, intent on getting at least another fifteen minutes in.

He poked me again.

I raised my head slowly and looked at him, who was looking back curiously. "Yes?"

"Aren't you going to pay attention?"

I rolled my eyes. "And why would I do that?"

"You're top of your class, aren't you?"

I ignored the voice in my head asking how the hell did he know that, and replied, "Yes. And?"

"I assumed you would need to, you know, pay attention in class and study and whatnot."

"You know what they say about assuming," I sang, bringing my head back down onto the table.

"No, I don't. What do they say?"

I just ignored them and tried to sleep.

"Well, if you don't want to pay attention to McGonagall, you could pay attention to me," I turned my head to glance at him, to see Black wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I returned my head to its previous position. "Fuck off."

I didn't hear him reply, so I went back to focusing on my sleep.

"What's weird," Black mused a little while later, waking me from my sleep yet again, "Is that you act like a Slytherin, and then you don't."

"What I've noticed is that you can't shut your trap for a measly five minutes, Black."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Can you not see that I am trying to sleep?" I questioned, pissed off. I was really tired around this time of morning and I needed my nap every day so I could function, and he was interrupting it constantly. I just wanted to fucking sleep, and this prat was irritating me to no end.

"Of course, but-" Black began.

"Mr. Black! Miss Bailey! Pay attention!"

I looked up at her, growled, flipped her off to the gasps around me, and tried to go back to sleep.

"DETENTION!"

Sirius slapped me on the back appreciatively, chucking. "Nice one!"

"You too, Mr. Black! Tonight, 8:00, both of you! My office! Now, pay attention!"

I sighed and slowly lifted my head from the table.

Sirius nudged me. "We can get to know each other a little more then, yeah?"

I banged my head back onto the table. It was going to be a long year.

The rest of my classes passed quickly, much to my disappointment. I was not looking forward to my later detention, that was for sure. And to top it off, Sirius Black was in _all_ of my classes. Every last one. Just my luck, I had to be stuck with that blithering idiot all day.

When he wasn't being loud and obnoxious in general, he was being loud and obnoxious pranking people with his friends. When he wasn't doing either of those, he was off snogging some random tart in a broom cupboard. These things never really bothered me in past years, but because of his newfound discovery of moi, he'd taken to greeting me loudly whenever he spotted me. To make matters worse, it seemed as though the professors had all teamed up to scheme against me. They had all announced that seating arrangements would be alphabetical, starting the second day of school. And guess who I had the fortune of being before alphabetically? These next two years were looking longer and longer.

I was trudging to McGonagall's room that night, darkly muttering to myself. Why did Black have to bother me? I never got detentions. He sits next to me, and boom, I'm a trouble maker. I had better stuff to do with my Thursday night. Like read. Or sleep.

Okay, so I didn't. But I didn't want to spend my time in detention, either.

McGonagall was the only one in there when I arrived. She was standing in the front of the classroom expectantly, her black hair pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head as usual.

"I hope this will teach you a lesson, Miss Bailey. I require your full attention during class." She reprimanded me as soon as I entered the classroom.

"It's Black's fault entirely, Professor," I informed her as I headed to the desk in front of her where parchment and a quill was set.

"I'm sure it was, but you need not let to him get to you," she advised as I sat down.

It didn't surprise me that McGonagall said that. She was a wise woman.

"I know, I know." I looked down at the parchment in front of me and sighed.

"You and Mr. Black will be writing lines; 'I will pay attention to the Professor during class.' 150 should do the trick."

"Yes, Professor." I picked up the quill and bent down to begin.

"I will wait for Mr. Black outside in the hallway and inform him of your punishment, and then I will head to a meeting with the Headmaster. I expect you two to behave."

"Always, professor," I replied as she exited the room.

Fifteen minutes later, Black swaggered in, looking like a tool as usual.

"Evening, Bailey."

I just grunted, not interested in what he had to say. My plan was to get these lines done as quickly and as painless as possible, then leave.

"You're looking lovely, as usual," he commented, sitting down in the desk next to mine.

I ignored him as usual, but something was bothering me. I was a Slytherin, right? Why was the epitome of Gryffindor taking interest in me? I asked, and his answer surprised me.

"Well you're obviously not a typical Slytherin. I see them shun you daily. There must be something special about you, correct?" He was looking over at me from his desk expectantly.

Well that answered my question. I just shrugged and continued working as I pondered the strange boy that sat in the desk next to me. Maybe Sirius Black wasn't as oblivious as I had originally thought. Or, he was up to something. Yes, that must be it.

"So," he started as he got to writing. "Tell me about yourself."

"No."

"Why not?"

I turned to give him my infamous _look_. It made babies cry, and manly men shit their pants. "Look, I don't know what kind of prank you're trying to pull, and my housemates likely deserve it, but leave me out of it."

"A prank? What are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

Why was he confused? Did I stutter?

"Whatever prank you're trying to pull, just shove it up your arse. Go use it on Snape or Malfoy."

"Harris," Sirius said impatiently, actually coming up to stand in front of my desk. I looked up, annoyed.

"What?"

"This is not a prank," he put his hands on my desk and looked me in the eye, but I looked down and continued writing, determined to finish my lines and get the hell out of there.

It was true that I really wanted a friend. But this was Sirius Black for God's sake. He didn't have a _serious_ (no pun intended) bone in his body. He was obviously up to something, and I did not want to be a part of it.

"Enlighten me then," I replied, still writing furiously.

He sounded frustrated. "It's just- I see you sitting by yourself at the Slytherin table every day-"

I looked up at him angrily. "So _that's_ it then? _You pity me?_ Pur-lease Black, go focus your energy on something else. Like deflating your ego, perhaps?"

I stood up in fury, finished with my lines. "Cheers!" I turned on my heel and stalked out of the classroom.

I heard a "Harris, wait!" From behind me, but I didn't stop until I was in my common room and up to my dormitory.

How _dare_ he? I was fuming. I did not need Sirius Black's, nor anyone else's pity. I had survived through my previous five years of education at Hogwarts; I could get through two more, easily.

After I had changed into my pajamas and was sitting on my bed, pondering my existence, I sighed. Perhaps I had been a _bit_ hypocritical, criticizing Sirius' ego when my own was probably larger than his. Maybe he really was just being nice, and I was just jumping down the throat of the first person who had shown any interest in me since first year. I resigned myself to being civil to him the next day if he attempted to talk to me.

Sirius Black was lucky that I was blessed with the rare gift of foresight.


	3. Friends

I was eating my solitary breakfast the next morning, when Black and friends entered the Great Hall. I looked at him with renewed interest, trying to figure him out with my eyes.

He walked with a swagger, not unlike that of Lucius Malfoy (seventh year Slytherin), though neither of them would admit it. But they were different in the way they carried themselves- Lucius with a cold superiority, Black with the carelessness and ease of a kid with not a care in the world. I knew that wasn't true, though. I heard that he finally ran away from his crazy pureblood psycho family's house to Potter's this past summer. While he hated his family, it had to hurt that they didn't come after him. His little brother was also at Hogwarts, a year younger in Slytherin. They didn't speak.

There had to be something hidden behind that careless smile. Perhaps I would find out what.

As they walked to the Gryffindor table, laughing at whatever it is that they laugh about, Black caught my eye as he sat down. He gave me a tentative smile, and I nodded in return, and went to reading the _Daily Prophet_ and eating my apple.

I could feel eyes boring into my head, so I looked up to see Black staring at me. I raised my eyebrows at him, and saw him mutter something to Potter, and stand up. He was heading my way. I watched him as he approached, finally halting right next to me at the Slytherin table.

I glanced around me at the other Slytherins who were glowering at him, then back at Black. "You have a lot of bollocks, you know that Black?"

"Oh, I know," he smirked. "Now, come with me. You can sit with the Marauders to eat."

I snorted, then realized that he was serious. "Let me get this straight," I began. "You're asking me, a Slytherin, to purposely go sit at the Gryffindor table? Why don't I just stand up and announce my wish to be publically executed?"

He rolled his eyes. "They won't bother you if you're with us. We're Gryffindor royalty."

It was my turn to roll my eyes and mutter, "More like royal jackasses. Anyway," I said louder. "How are your friends going to react to this?"

He waved at my worries. "I already told them, and they're dying to meet you."

I looked over at the remaining Marauders. Potter was bothering Evans, Lupin was reading, and the round one was stuffing his face. I never could remember his name.

"I'm sure," I replied sarcastically.

"Really," he insisted, then got impatient. "Oh, come on!" He then proceeded to grab my arm and pull me towards the Gryffindor table. Needless to say, we turned a lot of heads, and the SBFC sent me quite a few glares.

Oh, yes. I forgot to mention the Sirius Black Fan Club, or the SBFC as they're known by. That's right, Black was apparently desired enough to have acquired a fan club. Gag me with a spoon.

He pushed me down into the seat as we arrived at the opposite house table. While it was identical in that it was long and wooden, the atmosphere here was lighter, and I immediately liked it.

"Guys, this is Harris. Harris, well you know James," Potter grinned from across the table from Sirius.

"Harris, Remus," Remus Lupin looked up from his book and gave me a small smile, looking rough. It was probably a full moon soon. You see, Remus Lupin was a werewolf. I probably wasn't supposed to know this, but it was kind of self-explanatory when he disappears once a month. I didn't have a problem with it, though. Everyone knew that Lupin was one of the gentlest guys at Hogwarts. He couldn't help what he became.

"And this is Peter," Black introduced. So that was his name. Peter (formally known as The Round One) looked up from the other side of Lupin, who was across from me. Round One (I didn't care much for the name Peter) was gaping at me. It was slightly creepy. He had watery blue eyes, light brown hair, and was currently consuming a bit of toast on cheese. (You heard right, it seems as though he crumpled up some toast to top a block of cheese. Strange boy.)

"Hi, guys. Nice to meet you," I was trying to be as friendly as possible, which wasn't easy. After going so long without associating with anyone your age, one finds it hard to be uppity and kind.

"I feel like I already know you, Harris," I noticed that he was calling me by my first name. I figured I should return the favor.

"And why is that, James?" I asked.

"Because you're all that Sirius here talks about," James laughed, receiving a piece of toast to the face, courtesy of Black.

"Oh really?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

"He hasn't shut up since the train ride Tuesday," Lupin Remus said from behind his book.

"Well I don't know what all he could talk about," I said, glancing at Sirius (who was looking strangely embarrassed) next to me. "We've barely talked, ever."

"You don't need to talk to you to notice those tits, babe," James said to me with a smirk, earning another piece of toast to the face.

As I scrunched my nose up in disgust, preparing to read him the riot act, I noticed James trying to gouge my reaction. I turned my head a bit, gazing back at James, pondering him. From years of observing my peers, I could tell that James was sizing me up, trying to see what type of girl I was.

I could be the boring, prude-type of girl who would get offended, slap him maybe, or storm off. Or, I could be the bitty-type of girl, giggling and try to show them off more.

I settled for shrugging. "They do tend to speak for themselves sometimes, but I feel like Black was too busy complaining about the fact that I wiped his kiss off of my hand on the train." I smiled at James, and he smiled back.

I think I just made a friend.

Sirius looked weirdly between the two of us. "Mate, Lily's over there, remember?"

I wondered why Black was reminding him of that.

"Yeah, Pads, I know."

"So, is there a reason that you call Black 'Pads'?" I addressed James.

"It's short for Padfoot," Peter interjected, blushing.

The other three turned to glare at Peter, then looked at me.

"What's the rest of your nicknames?"

They looked around at each other uncertainly.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna find out eventually."

"James is Prongs, Remus is Moony, and Peter is Wormtail," Sirius explained slowly.

I took a minute to contemplate this. Remus is Moony- like the full moon? As in werewolf? That would make Wormtail… a rat?

_Oh_.

Everything suddenly made sense. I noticed last year that when Remus would disappear for his transformations, the other three started tagging along as well. I wondered how they could be around him without getting hurt, but it all became clear. _They were animagi._. Wizards who could transform into an animal at will. Peter became a rat (big surprise there), James was Prongs, so he must've been a... deer of some sort? And dogs have pads on their feet, right? That would be Sirius.

The guys must have noticed the realization cross my face, and started to look nervous.

"Harris..." Sirius started.

"What are you thinking?" James asked.

"Well," I said, standing up. "Must get to Runes. See you lot there!" And I winked, and left. I was still close enough to hear Remus reprimand them.

"What did you idiots do?" He sounded furious.

I grinned as I walked away. Their secret was safe with me.

Soon after I was sitting in Runes, zoning out as usual waiting for class to start. I kept falling asleep and then waking myself up again. I was _not_ adjusting well to waking back up at 7. Suddenly, somebody sat down next to me and wrapped their arm around my shoulder.

I jumped in surprise, turning to see Black grinning at me cheekily. "Sweet Circe!" I put my hand over my heart. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" he asked, still grinning, and now playing with my braid with the hand that was around my shoulder.

I stiffened uncomfortably. I wasn't used to people touching me, and I didn't like it, despite his warmth and godly scent. "Black, get your arm off of me."

"Nope." He popped the 'P' and twirled my dark brown plait around his finger.

I huffed, agaitated. "If you do not-" I began, but was rudely interrupted.

"Siri-Bear!" a screech was head from the doorway.

I turned around to see Betsy Donald, sixth year Hufflepuff and all-around tart. And that was putting it nicely. She had bleach-blonde hair and breasts the size of Christmas turkeys. If they weren't the product of a breast enhancement charm, I was Merlin's mistress.

I wondered vaguely what she was going on about as I tried to wrestle myself from under Sirius' arm. I wasn't having much luck. While keeping me trapped, he turned to the angry blonde girl that was storming over to us.

"Yes, pet?" he asked sweetly.

"_What_ are you doing with your arm around this- this slag?"

I found it highly ironic that she called me a slag. Hilarious, actually.

"Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black," I said, keeping my voice even. I really didn't want to end up with more detentions for slapping this sad, sad girl. Also, I just grew my nails back out and I didn't want to break them on her ugly face. It was hard work, growing nails.

Her face was red as she looked at me confusedly. "What are you talking about pots and kettles for, this is Ancient Runes class!"

I had to hold in my laughter, as did Black. Well, I suppose that's Hufflepuffs for you.

"Who are you, anyway?" she demanded.

"No one you need to be worrying about, darling," I replied, still trying to twist out of Black's grip. "But, by all means, continue yelling at Black. I find it quite entertaining."

She glared at me, with enough eyeliner coating her beady little eyes to don an entire emo boy band. "How about I yell at _you_, the little whore that's all over my boyfriend! Get your own, whoever you are! But I don't know how you could, with a face like _that_," she concluded smugly.

I stopped struggling with Black to give her a cold stare. She took a step back, but turned to Sirius when he butted in. I was rather disappointed that he butted in, actually. I was ready to practice my curses on her.

"I'm not your boyfriend!" Sirius said indignantly.

"But Siri!" she whined. "We _connected_ yesterday! I thought you felt something!" She stomped her foot.

I snorted, still glaring at her. I bet Sirius felt something, a connection of sorts, but it certainly wasn't what she was thinking.

"Listen, pet. Fellatio does not constitute a relationship."

I think I just puked in my mouth a bit. I did not need to hear that. I did not need to heard that. _I did not need to hear that_.

"But you loved it when I-" she began, desperately.

I had had more than enough. I felt bad for the poor girl, as odd as it was.

"Alright honey," I addressed her in a sweet voice. "Black is not healthy for a girl with such low self-esteem. You need therapy and a support system. Black is toxic, and also wildly smarter than you and it is not in your best interest to pursue a relationship with him.

She stuttered, trying to think of a comeback, and then stalked out of the classroom in tears. She wasn't even Ancient Runes with us. I laughed. I never said I was a nice person. I was a Slytherin for a reason, I suppose.

I took advantage of Black laughing hysterically next to me to pull his arm off, scoffing "You're no better," before turning back to the front because Professor Babbling had entered.

I tried focusing on her lecture about 6th year Ancient Rules while Black kept pestering me. I was torn between trying to pay attention, trying not to fall asleep, and trying not to punch Black in the face. It was all very tedious.

"Wait, Bailey, what are you talking about?"

"Harris, hey, Harris! What do you mean?"

"Psst, over here!"

He reminded me often of a troublesome puppy who just wanted to play. After ignoring him for the whole lesson, the bell finally rang and I stood up, gathering my stuff.

"Why were you ignoring me the whole time? I thought we were friends!"

_Woah_. That caught me off guard. No one had honestly said that to me before. It was a weird feeling. I, of course, didn't let it show how much the word had affected me. Everyone knew that I was a social pariah, but I didn't need to bring it to the forefront of his mind.

"Erm, we are. But you are a manwhore, which is just as bad as that slag." I yawned and started leaving.

"There's nothing wrong with sex!" He exclaimed indignantly.

"Be that as it may," I replied, briefly turning around to face him, "when you hurt people in the process you turn into a manwhore."

"I'll prove you wrong," he scoffed, walking with me out of the door.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'm skipping the rest of the day. See you later." I started walking to the dungeons.

"Wait!" Black caught up, surprised. "You can't just skip the rest of the day! What are you going to do?"

"You think you guys are the only ones that get away with stuff around here? Just tell the professors I'm having _lady problems_," I cackled. "I need some sleep!" I continued to walk away from him.

"Wait, you're just going to ditch me like that?" he called out to me. "Some friend!"

I kept walking. He'd get over it. But there was a smile on my face all of the way to my dorm.

_Some friend_. I liked the way that sounded.


	4. Enigma

Saturday morning found me trudging to the Hogwarts grounds after breakfast, wishing to enjoy the last rays of sunlight before the dreary Scotland autumn arrived. Despite the sunlight, it was still a bit chilly, so I opted for dressing warmly.

I had reached the beech tree by the Black Lake, conjured a blanket, and laid down, facing the sun. I closed my eyes, slipping in and out of sleep. It was quite nice.

However, as things typically go in my life, my rest and relaxation were rudely interrupted about a half an hour later.

"Harris! Fancy seeing you here!"

"Fuck off, Black." I didn't even bother opening my eyes.

"That wasn't very nice, love," came the unmistakable voice of James Potter.

I sighed and opened my eyes, slowly sitting up. I was greeted with the sight of all of the marauders. Lovely.

"What do you want?" I asked wearily.

"We just wanted to enjoy the beautiful day near the lake, at our favorite spot. Little did we know that our favorite girl would be there as well," Black grinned, sitting down next to me.

"Bullshit," I snorted. "Get to the point, or leave."

"Why do I get the feeling that you don't like us?" Sirius replied as the rest of his motley crew sat down upon my blanket.

"I don't like you, Black, because you tend to be an arrogant, randy prick which annoys me, and I like James, because he is generally likable and amuses me. I respect Remus, because he goes through hell monthly and yet remains as pleasant as ever, and Peter-" I glanced at the strange boy, "I don't know much about him."

They all stared at me incredulously for a bit, before James came out and asked with raised eyebrows. "You don't mince words, do you?"

I shrugged. "Slytherins are known to be blunt. Now, goodbye," and I laid upon my blanket (as much as I could due to the four adolescent males upon it) once more.

I didn't hear them leave, so I popped an eye open to see Black glaring at me, James grinning, and Remus looking incredibly confused. It was a strange sight, Remus' face was, because he was an intelligent bloke and was not confused often. Pettigrew was just looking at James. I swear he's in love with him.

"Did I say something?" I questioned Remus.

"What did you mean about the monthly…" he started slowly.

"Oh," I scoffed, closing my eyes once more, "I know you're a werewolf. I figured it out in first year, actually. But don't worry; I don't feel any differently about you or anything. You can't help the way you are."

It was silent again. I sighed huffily and sat up again, looking at them all. "Okay, is there a reason you lot are still sitting here gaping like a school of goldfish? I am trying to sunbathe."

When I went to look at James, I was alarmed by the size of the grin on his face. "Stop smiling, Potter. Your teeth structure isn't _that_ great."

"Mates," James addressed his friends, "Let's keep her."

Keep me? What am I, a cat?

Remus started grinning as well, and addressed me. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you've kept my secret for so long."

I nodded. "I'm normally not good at keeping secrets that don't concern myself, but as I've said before, I respect you. Don't fuck it up, though, love." I added.

James and Remus exchanged looks, then returned to staring at me as if I was some new, glorious toy. I turned to Black, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this. There was an obvious hurt look on his face.

I sighed. "What's wrong, Black?"

"You don't like me," he grumbled.

"Stop being such a prat all of the time and we won't have this problem," I suggested.

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, looking disgruntled.

I turned to James. "So are you blokes leaving now?"

James laughed. "No way, Harris. We have to get to know our new friend."

I sighed again. You may be asking yourself at this point, 'Why is she sighing when she has brand spanking new friends?' My answer is, ladies and gentlemen, that I just wanted to lie on my goddamn blanket and catch some rays before the fiery ball of heat disappeared for months.

I relayed this information to James.

"Then do it!" James said. "You lay down and we'll ask you questions about yourself."

Ooh, probing personal questions, my favorite.

"If you must." I returned to my original position.

"Full name?" Remus questioned.

"Harris Camille Bailey."

"Favorite color?" James asked.

"Green."

"Birthday?"

And that was my cue to stop answering. I didn't like to be questioned, and I didn't like to get personal with people I just met. It's just the way I am.

"Hello? Harris? Birthday?"

"You can leave now, James."

"Of course not! We'll just tell you about ourselves! I'll start. My name is James Charlus Potter. My favorite colors are Gryffindor red and gold. My birthday is March 27, and I enjoy pranking unsuspecting victims. I also quite enjoy Lily Evans, she…"

And he went on and on to describe her, and more about himself. He paused for me to make an occasional comment, scoff, or snort, and was generally amusing in his narration. Throughout this, I came to the realization that I truly like James Potter. Besides being hilarious, he was genuinely in love with Lily Evans, and was dedicated and determined enough to continue to pursue her six years later. I also admired his dedication (obsession) with quidditch. I loved the sport myself, but didn't try out for the Slytherin team for obvious reasons.

While I was musing, Remus started his narration. Apparently his full name was Remus John Lupin, and was born on March 10. He explained how he was bitten at a young age, and all of the hardships he had to endure since. He was another person that I truly liked and respected. Maybe these guys weren't that bad.

"Alright Padfoot, your turn."

"Sirius Orion Black. Red and Gold. November second." He said this all stonily.

"Are you going to continue?" James asked happily, disregarding his best friend's dreary mood.

"No. _She_ didn't."

What. A. Brat.

"Listen Black," I said tiredly. "Just stop being such a dick all of the time and we'll be right as rain," I checked my watch. "I'm going to lunch." I stood up, ready to walk away.

"Wait! We'll come with you! You can sit with us." James told me, standing up as well.

"Alright," I said, vanishing the blanket beginning the trek back to the castle.

Remus caught up with me. "A silent banishment spell? Blunt and talented. I admire it."

That stopped me in my tracks for a second. "Not very many people do. Now, c'mon. I'm starved."

We walked back up to the castle together, with Black exclaiming behind us. "I'll prove you wrong, Bailey!"

Whatever you say, pet.

I sat down at their table and began piling food onto my plate as usual. Remus sat down next to me, copying my actions as we watched Black, James, and Roundy enter, Black grumbling in James' ear, like the little baby he is.

James sat down across from me, Black next to him, and opened his mouth to say something before it went slack at the sight behind him. I turned around to see Lily Evans and her gaggle of biddies flouncing past, noses in the air as usual.

"Oi, Evans!" James began, but was cut off.

"Drown yourself Potter," she continued walking.

James just sighed longingly, dolloping mashed potatoes on his plate sadly. Black patted him on his back.

"You can do so much better than her," I suggested casually, forking potatoes into my mouth.

James' head snapped up, looking at me, confused. "What're you on about?"

It was like he'd never considered anyone else. Quite sad, really. I rolled my eyes, and gestured my fork at the redhead down the table. "Evans. She's such a bitch to you. To everyone, really. And you've been nothing but nice and caring to her all these years. She's snobby, self-centered, and not even that pretty. Maybe you should try turning your attention elsewhere."

Remus was nodding vigorously during my little speech. Peter was staring at James while he ate another block of cheese, and Sirius was looking at me.

"So you agree with her?" James addressed Remus, outraged.

"Of course. I've thought that for years, but I didn't know how to bring it up. I didn't want to hurt you."

They both turned to look at me pointedly and I shrugged. "I tend to talk first, then think."

"But," James stuttered. "It's Lily Evans! The _definition_ of perfection. I've loved her since forever!"

"It's _Lily Evans_, the definition of snotty bitch. She's _ignored_ you since forever. Perhaps it's time for you to do the same."

"But I don't know how to deal with other girls! Lily's been my one and only all of my life at Hogwarts!"

"Don't deal with all of the girls. You need to find someone to appreciate James for James. Get it?

James looked at me thoughtfully for a bit. "Maybe you're right."

"I always am." And I continued to eat my food.

"I agree with Harris," Sirius added during the thoughtful silence.

James glanced at him. "Alright then."

And that was that.

I finished eating ten minutes later and stood up. James stood up as soon as he saw me do so (knocking pumpkin juice onto Sirius' lap, who exclaimed "Where's the fire?" with annoyance), and I looked at him, confused.

"What're you going to do now?" he questioned eagerly, like I was the most exciting person in the world.

However, to his disappointment (or so I thought) I was not going to bungee jump from the Astronomy tower or anything of the sort. "Just going to write a letter."

"To whom?"

I just looked at him.

"Right. You don't fancy getting personal, do you? I'll change that." He said it like he was confident or something.

"Goodbye," I turned to leave.

"Wait, I'll go with you!"

I glanced at the rest of the Marauders to see if James taking this much of an interest in me was a normal occurrence, but they looked just as confused as me.

I shrugged. "Come along then. I'll have to stop by my common room, but we can go to the library."

"Oh good, I'll come too," added Remus, standing up to follow us.

"Don't forget me!" Roundy added.

As we began our trek, I distinctly heard Black mumble something regarding 'Not fair' and 'I found her first'.

~*~

Monday morning came with a definite change as I walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, as usual. I had spent the previous day catching up on my sleeping, so I wasn't out in the open to see my new friends much.

Despite my normal appearance, a great many heads turned upon my entrance. Unlike what I supposed many other girls my age would do, I simply looked back at the observers with a raised eyebrow, who quickly averted their gazes when met with mine. This was strange for me, as I was never the subject of the many stares of the gossip mongrels at Hogwarts. Sure, I received the random contemplation throughout the years, but never in this quantity.

I saw James waving me down from the Gryffindor table, so I went and sat across from him, next to Black, who still appeared to be in a surly mood.

"Any idea why the whole school is staring at me?" I addressed Remus and James across from me.

James and Remus turned around to observe the observers while Black answered from next to me. "They've always stared."

"Be that as it may," I began buttering a piece of toast, "They've never all stared at once. And especially not at me. I'm just the sad Slytherin outcast who everyone looks past."

James and Remus turned back around to share an incredulous look before replying.

"What're you on about?"

"You really haven't noticed?"

I just replied with a 'What the fuck are you talking about' type of look.

"Everyone knows who you are, Harris," James told me.

I snorted. "We've already been over this. It's because I'm the-"

"Enigma of Hogwarts?" Remus suggested.

I looked at him, confused.

"I don't know what enigma means, but you're the mysterious, standoffish bird from Slytherin, who-"

"That's what enigma means, James."

"Well how am I supposed to know that, Mr. I-spend-my-life-in-a-book?"

"I do not spend my life in a book and you know it!"

"Oh please, you-"

I tuned out their arguing and turned to Black.

"What are they talking about?"

He looked up from his moping and replied, "So you're talking to me now?"

I sighed, trying to reign in my self-control as to not yell at him or insert any rude remarks. "Yes Black, I'm deeply sorry for ignoring you. Now would you please answer my question?"

Even though he hardly knew me, I think he could tell that that was an incredibly insincere apology (I _rarely_ apologized), but answered anyway, in a nicer voice. "Everyone knows you as that sexy, unapproachable Slytherin girl who never talks to anyone."

It was my turn for the incredulous stare. "What are you talking about? No one talks to me because I'm a Slytherin!"

Black shook his head with a smile on his face. "No, it's because you're beautiful and intimidating, love. And I would bet a thousand galleons that everyone's staring at you because you finally talked to someone, and not just any someone, but the Marauders, also known as the Kings of Hogwarts."

I waved away his joke and stared off into the distance, thinking. Foresight was telling me to listen to Black. That the population of Hogwarts has not been ignoring me all of these years, but I, them. Maybe the initial students I had encountered had judged me on my tie, but after that, I had judged everyone else, distancing myself. Although I hardly doubted the sexy thing was true. That was probably just Black's hormones inserting themselves into the conversation.

I turned to Sirius, in awe. "No way."

He just nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "And it was me, Sirius Black, who introduced you to the world of friends."

I pushed him away by his face. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get to Transfiguration."

As we left James and Remus at the table, still arguing, I pondered all of the stares directing themselves at me.

Could all of these people have been my friends?


End file.
